Some Proposals for Epistemological Advances in the Study of Organizational Learning

Organizational Learning (OL) is a scientific field characterized by a long history and growing interest, so to be considered a core and promising concept in theory and practice related to the management and the organization of work. This paper addresses the two main issues that have been dominating scientific debate in the area: the terminological confusion and the paucity and limitedness of the relevant empirical studies. The perceived need for systematization is not just a call for a unified vocabulary, but mainly a call for epistemological advances on topics like knowledge, learning, organizations, and innovation. These problems may be generalized to the claim that the social sciences are strong on theory, but relatively weak on practice, and that organizational learning appears to be no exception. The aim of this paper is to discuss some theoretical proposals on those topics, casting them within the complex systems framework, and to outline empirical research relevant to the issues discussed.